In this chapter we have, I. Isaac in adversity, by
reason of a famine in the land, which, 1. Obliges him to change his
quarters, ver. 1. But, 2.
God visits him with direction and comfort, ver. 2-5. 3. He foolishly denies his wife,
being in distress and is reproved for it by Abimelech, ver. 6-11. II. Isaac in prosperity,
by the blessing of God upon him, ver. 12-14. And, 1. The Philistines were
envious at him, ver.
14-17. 2. He continued industrious in his business,
ver. 18-23. 3. God
appeared to him, and encouraged him, and he devoutly acknowledged
God, ver. 24, 25. 4. The
Philistines, at length, made court to him, and made a covenant with
him, ver. 26-33. 5. The
disagreeable marriage of his son Esau was an alloy to the comfort
of his prosperity, ver. 34,
35.

Removal of Isaac to Gerar. (b. c. 1804.)

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the
first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto
Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 And the
Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go
not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will
bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these
countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham
thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the
stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries;
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge,
my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Here, I. God tried Isaac by his providence.
Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the divine
grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; yet now there is
a famine in the land, v.
1. What shall he think of the promise when the promised
land will not find him bread? Is such a grant worth accepting, upon
such terms, and after so long a time? Yes, Isaac will still cleave
to the covenant; and the less valuable Canaan in itself seems to be
the better he is taught to value it, 1. As a token of God's
everlasting kindness to him; and, 2. As a type of heaven's
everlasting blessedness. Note, The intrinsic worth of God's
promises cannot be lessened in a believer's eye by any cross
providences.

II. He directed him under this trial by his
word. Isaac finds himself straitened by the scarcity of provisions.
Somewhere he must go for supply; it should seem, he set out for
Egypt, whither his father went in the like strait, but he takes
Gerar in his way, full of thoughts, no doubt, which way he had best
steer his course, till God graciously appeared to him, and
determined him, abundantly to his satisfaction. 1. God bade him
stay where he was, and not go down into Egypt: Sojourn in this
land, v. 2, 3.
There was a famine in Jacob's days, and God bade him go down
into Egypt (ch. xlvi. 3,
4), a famine in Isaac's days, and God bade him
not to go down, a famine in Abraham's days, and God left him
to his liberty, directing him neither way. This variety in the
divine procedure (considering that Egypt was always a place of
trial and exercise to God's people) some ground upon the different
characters of these three patriarchs. Abraham was a man of very
high attainments, and intimate communion with God; and to him all
places and conditions were alike. Isaac was a very good man, but
not cut out for hardship; therefore he is forbidden to go to Egypt.
Jacob was inured to difficulties, strong and patient; and therefore
he must go down into Egypt, that the trial of his faith might be
to praise, and honour, and glory. Thus God proportions his
people's trials to their strength. 2. He promised to be with
him, and bless him, v.
3. As we may go any where with comfort when God's
blessing goes with us, so we may stay any where contentedly if that
blessing rest upon us. 3. He renewed the covenant with him, which
had so often been made with Abraham, repeating and ratifying the
promises of the land of Canaan, a numerous issue, and the Messiah,
v. 3, 4. Note,
Those that must live by faith have need often to review, and repeat
to themselves, the promises they are to live upon, especially when
they are called to any instance of suffering or self-denial. 4. He
recommended to him the good example of his father's obedience, as
that which had preserved the entail of the covenant in his family
(v. 5): "Abraham
obeyed my voice; do thou do so too, and the promise shall be
sure to thee." Abraham's obedience is here celebrated, to his
honour; for by it he obtained a good report both with God and men.
A great variety of words is here used to express the divine will,
to which Abraham was obedient (my voice, my charge, my
commandments, my statutes, and my laws), which may intimate
that Abraham's obedience was universal; he obeyed the original laws
of nature, the revealed laws of divine worship, particularly that
of circumcision, and all the extraordinary precepts God gave him,
as that of quitting his country, and that (which some think is more
especially referred to) of the offering up of his son, which Isaac
himself had reason enough to remember. Note, Those only shall have
the benefit and comfort of God's covenant with their godly parents
that tread in the steps of their obedience.

Isaac's Denial of His Wife. (b. c. 1840.)

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 And the men
of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She
is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife;
lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for
Rebekah;
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because she was fair to look
upon. 8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long
time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a
window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with
Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said,
Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou,
She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said,
Lest I die for her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is
this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have
lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon
us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying,
He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to
death.

Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts of
going to Egypt, and, in obedience to the heavenly vision, sets up
his staff in Gerar, the country in which he was born (v. 6), yet there he enters into
temptation, the same temptation that his good father had been once
and again surprised and overcome by, namely, to deny his wife, and
to give out that she was his sister. Observe,

I. How he sinned, v. 7. Because his wife was handsome, he
fancied the Philistines would find some way or other to take him
off, that some of them might marry her; and therefore she must pass
for his sister. It is an unaccountable thing that both these great
and good men should be guilty of so strange a piece of
dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and
their wives' reputation. But we see, 1. That very good men have
sometimes been guilty of very great faults and follies. Let those
therefore that stand take heed lest they fall, and those that have
fallen not despair of being helped up again. 2. That there is an
aptness in us to imitate even the weaknesses and infirmities of
those we have a value for. We have need therefore to keep our foot,
lest, while we aim to tread in the steps of good men, we sometimes
tread in their by-steps.

II. How he was detected, and the cheat
discovered, by the king himself. Abimelech (not the same that was
in Abraham's days, ch.
20, for this was nearly 100 years after that, but this
was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Cæsar of the Roman
emperors) saw Isaac more familiar and pleasant with Rebekah than he
knew he would be with his sister (v. 8): he saw him sporting with her, or
laughing; it is the same word with that from which Isaac had
his name. He was rejoicing with the wife of his youth,
Prov. v. 18. It becomes
those in that relation to be pleasant with one another, as those
that are pleased with one another. Nowhere may a man more allow
himself to be innocently merry than with his own wife and children.
Abimelech charged him with the fraud (v. 9), showed him how frivolous his
excuse was and what might have been the bad consequences of it
(v. 10), and then,
to convince him how groundless and unjust his jealousy of them was,
took him and his family under his particular protection, forbidding
any injury to be done to him or his wife upon pain of death,
v. 11. Note, 1. A
lying tongue is but for a moment. Truth is the daughter of time;
and, in time, it will out. 2. One sin is often the inlet to many,
and therefore the beginnings of sin ought to be avoided. 3. The
sins of professors shame them before those that are without. 4. God
can make those that are incensed against his people, though there
may be some colour of cause for it, to know that it is at their
peril if they do them any hurt. See Ps. cv. 14, 15.

Isaac's Removal to
Beersheba. (b. c. 1804.)

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received
in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him: 13 And the man waxed
great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds,
and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the
days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and
filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go
from us; for thou art much mightier than we. 17 And Isaac
departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and
dwelt there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water,
which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the
Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he
called their names after the names by which his father had called
them. 19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and
found there a well of springing water. 20 And the herdmen of
Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is
ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove
with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for
that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he
removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they
strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For
now
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the Lord
hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 24 And the
Lord appeared unto him the same
night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear
not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply
thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. 25 And he builded an
altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there
Isaac's servants digged a well.

Here we have,

I. The tokens of God's good-will to Isaac.
He blessed him, and prospered him, and made all that he had
to thrive under his hands. 1. His corn multiplied strangely,
v. 12. He had no
land of his own, but took land of the Philistines, and sowed it;
and (be it observed for the encouragement of poor tenants, that
occupy other people's lands, and are honest and industrious) God
blessed him with a great increase. He reaped a hundred fold;
and there seems to be an emphasis laid upon the time: it was that
same year when there was a famine in the land; while others
scarcely reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully. See Isa. lxv. 13, My servants shall
eat, but you shall be hungry, Ps.
xxxvii. 19, In the days of famine they shall be
satisfied. 2. His cattle also increased, v. 14. And then, 3. He had great
store of servants, whom he employed and maintained. Note, As
goods are increased those are increased that eat them,
Eccl. v. 11.

II. The tokens of the Philistines' ill-will
to him. They envied him, v. 14. It is an instance, 1. Of the
vanity of the world that the more men have of it the more they are
envied, and exposed to censure and injury. Who can stand before
envy? Prov. xxvii. 4.
See Eccl. iv. 4. 2. Of the
corruption of nature; for that is a bad principle indeed which
makes men grieve at the good of others, as if it must needs
be ill with me because it is well with my neighbor. (1.) They had
already shown their ill-will to his family, by stopping up the
wells which his father had digged, v. 15. This was spitefully done.
Because they had not flocks of their own to water at these wells,
they would not leave them for the use of others; so absurd a thing
is malice. And it was perfidiously done, contrary to the covenant
of friendship they had made with Abraham, ch. xxi. 31, 32. No bonds will hold
ill-nature. (2.) They expelled him out of their country, v. 16, 17. The king of
Gerar began to look upon him with a jealous eye. Isaac's house was
like a court, and his riches and retinue eclipsed Abimelech's; and
therefore he must go further off. They were weary of his
neighbourhood, because they saw that the Lord blessed him; whereas,
for that reason, they should the rather have courted his stay, that
they also might be blessed for his sake. Isaac does not insist upon
the bargain he had made with them for the lands he held, nor upon
his occupying and improving them, nor does he offer to contest with
them by force, though he had become very great, but very peaceably
departs thence further from the royal city, and perhaps to a part
of the country less fruitful. Note, We should deny ourselves both
in our rights and in our conveniences, rather than quarrel: a wise
and a good man will rather retire into obscurity, like Isaac here
into a valley, than sit high to be the butt of envy and
ill-will.

III. His constancy and continuance in his
business still.

1. He kept up his husbandry, and continued
industrious to find wells of water, and to fit them for his use,
v. 18, &c.
Though he had grown very rich, yet he was as solicitous as ever
about the state of his flocks, and still looked well to his herds;
when men grow great, they must take heed of thinking themselves too
big and too high for their business. Though he was driven from the
conveniences he had had, and could not follow his husbandry with
the same ease and advantage as before, yet he set himself to make
the best of the country he had come into, which it is every man's
prudence to do. Observe,

(1.) He opened the wells that his father
had digged (v. 18),
and out of respect to his father called them by the same names that
he had given them. Note, In our searches after truth, that fountain
of living water, it is good to make use of the discoveries of
former ages, which have been clouded by the corruptions of later
times. Enquire for the old way, the wells which our fathers digged,
which the adversaries of truth have stopped up: Ask thy elders,
and they shall teach thee.

(2.) His servants dug new wells, v. 19. Note, Though we must
use the light of former ages, it does not therefore follow that we
must rest in it, and make no advances. We must still be building
upon their foundation, running to and fro, that knowledge may be
increased, Dan. xii.
4.

(3.) In digging his wells he met with much
opposition, v. 20,
21. Those that open the fountains of truth must expect
contradiction. The first two wells which they dug were called
Esek and Sitnah, contention and hatred. See
here, [1.] What is the nature of worldly things; they are
make-bates and occasions of strife. [2.] What is often the lot even
of the most quiet and peaceable men in this world; those that avoid
striving yet cannot avoid being striven with, Ps. cxx. 7. In this sense, Jeremiah was a
man of contention (Jer. xv.
10), and Christ himself, though he is the prince of
peace. [3.] What a mercy it is to have plenty of water, to have it
161
without striving for it. The more common
this mercy is the more reason we have to be thankful for it.

(4.) At length he removed to a quiet
settlement, cleaving to his peaceable principle, rather to fly than
fight, and unwilling to dwell with those that hated peace,
Ps. cxx. 6. He preferred
quietness to victory. He dug a well, and for this they strove
not, v. 22.
Note, Those that follow peace, sooner or later, shall find peace;
those that study to be quiet seldom fail of being so. How unlike
was Isaac to his brother Ishmael, who, right or wrong, would hold
what he had, against all the world! ch. xvi. 12. And which of these would
we be found the followers of? This well they called Rehoboth,
enlargements, room enough: in the two former wells we may see
what the earth is, straitness and strife; men cannot
thrive, for the throng of their neighbours. This well shows us what
heaven is; it is enlargement and peace, room enough
there, for there are many mansions.

2. He continued firm to his religion, and
kept up his communion with God. (1.) God graciously appeared to
him, v. 24. When the
Philistines expelled him, forced him to remove from place to place,
and gave him continual molestation, then God visited him, and gave
him fresh assurances of his favour. Note, When men are found false
and unkind, we may comfort ourselves that God is faithful and
gracious; and his time to show himself so is when we are most
disappointed in our expectations from men. When Isaac had come to
Beer-sheba (v. 23)
it is probable that it troubled him to think of his unsettled
condition, and that he could not be suffered to stay long in a
place; and, in the multitude of these thoughts within him, that
same night that he came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba God brought
him his comforts to delight his soul. Probably he was apprehensive
that the Philistines would not let him rest there: Fear not,
says God to him, I am with thee, and will bless thee, and you can find
more about that here on
st-takla.org on other commentaries and
dictionary entries. Those
may remove with comfort that are sure of God's presence with them
wherever they go. (2.) He was not wanting in his returns of duty to
God; for there he built an altar, and called upon the name of
the Lord, v. 25.
Note, [1.] Wherever we go, we must take our religion along with us.
Probably Isaac's altars and his religious worship gave offence to
the Philistines, and provoked them to be the more troublesome to
him; yet he kept up his duty, whatever ill-will he might be exposed
to by it. [2.] The comforts and encouragements God gives us by his
word should excite and quicken us to every exercise of devotion by
which God may be honoured and our intercourse with heaven
maintained.

Isaac's Covenant with
Abimelech. (b. c. 1760.)

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and
Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his
army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me,
seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And
they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be
now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us
make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt,
as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing
but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the
blessed of the Lord. 30 And
he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And
they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and
Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came,
and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said
unto him, We have found water. 33 And he called it Shebah:
therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this
day.

We have here the contests that had been
between Isaac and the Philistines issuing in a happy peace and
reconciliation.

I. Abimelech pays a friendly visit to
Isaac, in token of the respect he had for him, v. 26. Note, When a man's ways
please the Lord he makes even his enemies to be at peace with
him, Prov. xvi. 7.
Kings' hearts are in his hands, and when he pleases he can turn
them to favour his people.

II. Isaac prudently and cautiously
questions his sincerity in this visit, v. 27. Note, In settling friendships
and correspondences, there is need of the wisdom of the serpent, as
well as the innocence of the dove; nor is it any transgression of
the law of meekness and love plainly to signify our strong
perception of injuries received, and to stand upon our guard in
dealing with those that have acted unfairly.

III. Abimelech professes his sincerity, in
this address to Isaac, and earnestly courts his friendship,
v. 28, 29. Some
suggest that Abimelech pressed for this league with him because he
feared lest Isaac, growing rich, should, some time or other, avenge
himself upon them for the injuries he had received. However, he
professes to do it rather from a principle of love. 1. He makes the
best of their behaviour towards him. Isaac complained they had
hated him, and sent him away. No, said Abimelech, we sent
thee away in peace. They turned him off from the land he held
of them; but they suffered him to take away his stock, and all his
effects, with him. Note, The lessening of injuries is necessary to
the
162
preserving of friendship; for the
aggravating of them exasperates and widens breaches. The unkindness
done to us might have been worse. 2. He acknowledges the token of
God's favour to him, and makes this the ground of their desire to
be in league with him: The Lord is with thee, and thou art the
blessed of the Lord. As if he had said, "Be persuaded to
overlook and pass by the injuries offered thee; for God had
abundantly made up to thee the damage thou receivedst." Note, Those
whom God blesses and favours have reason enough to forgive those
who hate them, since the worst enemy they have cannot do them any
real hurt. Or, "For this reason we desire thy friendship, because
God is with thee." Note, It is good to be in covenant and
communion with those who are in covenant and communion with God,
1 John i. 3; present address
to him was the result of mature deliberation: We said, Let there
be an oath between us. Whatever some of his peevish envious
subjects might mean otherwise, he and his prime-ministers of state,
whom he had now brought with him, designed no other than a cordial
friendship. Perhaps Abimelech had received, by tradition, the
warning God gave to his predecessor not to hurt Abraham (ch. xx. 7), and this made him
stand in such awe of Isaac, who appeared to be as much the
favourite of Heaven as Abraham was.

IV. Isaac entertains him and his company,
and enters into a league of friendship with him, v. 30, 31. Here see how generous
the good man was, 1. In giving: He made them a feast, and
bade them welcome. (2.) In forgiving. He did not insist upon the
unkindnesses they had done him, but freely entered into a covenant
of friendship with them, and bound himself never to do them any
injury. Note, Religion teaches us to be neighbourly, and, as much
as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men.

V. Providence smiled upon what Isaac did;
for the same day that he made this covenant with Abimelech his
servants brought him the tidings of a well of water they had found,
v. 32, 33. He did
not insist upon the restitution of the wells which the Philistines
had unjustly taken from him, lest this should break off the treaty,
but sat down silent under the injury; and, to recompense him for
this, immediately he is enriched with a new well, which, because it
suited so well to the occurrence of the day, he called by an old
name, Beer-sheba, The well of the oath.

Esau's Foolish Marriage. (b. c. 1760.)

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to
wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the
daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 Which were a grief of mind
unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Here is, 1. Esau's foolish
marriage—foolish, some think, in marrying two wives together, for
which perhaps he is called a fornicator (Heb. xii. 16), or rather in marrying
Canaanites, who were strangers to the blessing of Abraham, and
subject to the curse of Noah, for which he is called
profane; for hereby he intimated that he neither desired the
blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. 2. The grief and trouble it
created to his tender parents. (1.) It grieved them that he married
without asking, or at least without taking, their advice and
consent: see whose steps those children tread in who either contemn
or contradict their parents in disposing of themselves. (2.) It
grieved them that he married the daughters of Hittites, who had no
religion among them; for Isaac remembered his father's care
concerning him, that he should by no means marry a Canaanite. (3.)
It should seem, the wives he married were provoking in their
conduct towards Isaac and Rebekah; those children have little
reason to expect the blessing of God who do that which is a grief
of mind to their good parents.